The present disclosure relates to displacement sensors generally. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to digital compensation for non-linearity in displacement measurements.
Displacement can be measured using a capacitive sensor, a differential transformer, or an optical transducer. Displacement sensors can have various sources of non-linearity. The non-linearity may be reduced by suitable mechanisms and electronics. If a displacement sensor is used to measure vibration, the non-linearity can appear as a total harmonic distortion. Such displacement sensors are often used for servo accelerometers, broadband seismometer, or force balance seismometer, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,133,214; 6,901,801; 8,159,904; 8,125,852; 4,792,198. If a displacement sensor is used with a mass-spring system, the non-linearity of the suspension spring may also add to the total non-linearity of the displacement sensor.